Things Go Better With... IBM

I was recently researching in our oral history collection and came across an envelope of what looked like magnetic cards. The envelope the cards were in indicated they were part of an interview with James Farley. Farley was a luminary with The Coca-Cola Company and was critical to the world wide expansion of our business. He had been the head of the Democratic National Committee from 1932 to 1940 and was Postmaster General in President F.D. Roosevelt's Cabinet. He resigned in 1940 and became Chairman of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation which was responsible for the sale of Coca-Cola outside of the US and Canada, a position he held until the early 1970s.
I sent photographs of the magnetic cards to Paul Lasewicz, the Archivist for IBM to see if he could help me determine what they were. Paul sent back a note identifying the cards as part of the IBM Selectric typewriter system from the late 60s or early 70s. Paul noted "the machine allowed secretaries to type at rough draft speed, then stored the draft in an editable format (the mag card) which allowed them to make any corrections needed before printing the document. You can imagine how this improved efficiency, not just by speeding the typing but by also allowing for soft-copy versions of repetitive documents like form letters. We had a similar product that was based on magnetic tape that was introduced in 1964. Back then it wasn't called word processing - we called it 'power typing'." Unfortunately, they do not have any readers that can process the mag cards, so it is a good thing I also have a printout of the oral history transcript!

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.